Long Summer Twilights

In long, soft orange twilights, fireflies flash low around the shrubs, under the trees and out in the grass. The air stays warm and humid, with the summer scent of grass, but with cool currents that drift up from low, shady spots. Two bats circle over the open part of our yard, up at the top of the driveway, where we often walk to see the end of day and watch for the first stars to come out. Cicadas keep singing long after sunset, but gradually, as the light very slowly fades, they fall silent and the katydids begin to sing. One evening we watched as a female Eastern Bluebird made several late, last trips in and out of the bluebird box in the deepening shadows. The white blossoms of crepe myrtles and impatiens glow in the dark as if they had captured light and now reflect it.

Leave a Reply